Tikal, Guatemala: Complete Travel Guide to the Ancient Mayan Ruins

Hidden within the thick jungles of Northern Guatemala, you’ll find some of the most incredible Mayan ruins that exist in the world: Tikal.

It’s honestly one of the coolest historical sites we visited during our half-year trip through Central America. The tall temples of the abandoned city poke out the top of the canopy, leaving you with an amazing feeling as you cast your mind back to when the ancient city was at its peak over 1000 years ago.

Our detailed guide below is here to help you with planning your trip to Tikal, Guatemala. You’ll find everything you need to know before you go; what to expect for your visit, what to bring, whether a tour is worth it, and much more.

Where is Tikal?

Tikal National Park is an expansive jungle area in Northern Guatemala. It’s close to the border of Belize and especially to the town of Flores. Visiting Tikal is easily the BEST thing to do in Flores!

What is Tikal?

Tikal was once one of the most powerful city-states of the ancient Maya civilisation, thriving between the 4th century BCE and the 10th century CE.

It started off as a small village in 900 BCE and by its peak it was home to tens of thousands of people, featuring massive temples, palaces, and ceremonial plazas. 

Today, what remains are the towering temples rising above the forest canopy, expansive plazas and palaces, surrounded by wildlife like howler monkeys and toucans. It’s one of our favourite ruins – maybe even one of our favourite tourist sites in Central America – hands down!

When is Tikal open and when should I go?

The site is open daily from 6am – 5pm. You can arrive before this for sunrise and stay after for sunset, but you will need a special ticket (more on that below). 

The best time to visit Tikal (& Guatemala in general) would be in the dry season, which is from December to April. We went in early December and it was cold (for sunrise) but quickly warmed up during the day.

Being there for sunrise was AMAZING, so we would highly recommend this. However, you can’t always guarantee a good sunrise (if any) – there’s no controlling the potentially cloudy weather – and it’s more expensive, especially for tours. Just something to weigh up, but we’ll be going into more detail on this below.

How much does Tikal cost?

🎟️ Day pass: Q150 (£15 / US $20) for entry from 6am – 5pm.
🌅 Sunrise ticket**: Q100 (£10 / US $15) for entry from 4:30am – 6am.
🌅 Sunset ticket*: Q100 (£10 / US $15) per person for entry from 5pm – 8pm.
👶🏼 Children under 12 are free.

* to be paid in addition to the day pass. Can be purchased in-person.
** to be paid in addition to the day pass. You (or your tour guide) will need to purchase this ticket from a Banrural Bank the day before. You can’t purchase the sunrise ticket in-person at Tikal, as the out of hours ticket office is not open. 

There seems to be a website now that allows you to purchase tickets online for sunrise. That wasn’t around when we were there in late 2024, so we’d recommend checking with your accommodation or a tour guide beforehand to see whether buying sunrise tickets online is an option.

There are no ATMs in Tikal, so make sure you bring enough cash with you.

Can I visit Tikal using public transport?

Yes, but it can be tricky! There are public buses that run from Flores Bus Station every hour from 6am. It takes around 2 hours.

We didn’t do this as we opted for the sunrise tour, but from what people have said, you might get to the bus station and they may tell you that no public buses run to Tikal and that you need to pay for a (more expensive) shuttle. This is a lie.

You should be able to find a microbus in the parking area next to the terminal. You need to look for the bus labeled Remate / Tikal / Uaxactun. The buses are supposed to leave on the hour, so we recommend arriving 10 or so minutes before.

The ticket office for Tikal is 17km(!) from the actual entrance, and the bus will most likely not wait for you if you need to hop off to buy your tickets. Make sure to buy your tickets online beforehand to avoid this, or you’ll have to wait outside the ticket office for the next bus. The ticket office is open from 7am – 5:30pm.

The bus ride could cost you anywhere between Q70 to Q150 for a return journey, depending on how much they choose to charge you. Most tours (excluding tickets) are around Q150, so for peace of mind and an easier, more fact-filled day we would recommend a tour. 

Where should I stay when visiting Tikal? 

You have 2 main choices of where to stay if you want to visit Tikal…

Flores Island

The first is the beautiful town of Flores which is only 1.5 hours away from Tikal. The town is the default choice for the majority of those wanting to visit Tikal, so everywhere you look there will be tour operators offering trips to the ruins – which typically include transport & a guide.

Hostels/guesthouses:

• $ Los Amigos: the most popular hostel in Flores with a great tour desk to book your tours and transport. Dorms and privates available.
• $ Hostel Macarena: beautifully designed hostel with a lovely garden and free breakfast every morning. Dorms and privates available.
• $ Ahau Tikal: Spacious garden with relaxing/yoga vibes. With shared kitchen and free brekkie. Dorms and privates available.

Hotels

• $$ Hotel Casa Amelia: beautifully designed rooms with views over the lake in an iconic colourful building.
• $$ Hotel Casona de La Isla: Gorgeous hotel with a pool and amazing views over the lake. Offering rooms and apartments. 
• $$$ Villa Maya: 4 star comfort rooms with garden and lake views. It also has a stunning pool and outside area.

Tikal

The second option is actually staying in Tikal National Park! Yes, in Tikal, right next to the entrance!

This is the perfect spot if you want to visit the site over multiple days or want to be within walking distance of the incredible ruins!

You don’t have too many options but we think these ones look great and only 10-15min walk to the main temples within the site:

• $-$$ Hotel Jaguar Inn Tikal: Eco-friendly hotel run 100% on solar panels.
• $-$$ Jungle Lodge Tikal: Offering rooms, suites & bungalows but the coolest part is that there are original rooms here of the archaeologists who studied the area in the 50s!
• $$ Hotel Jungle Lodge Tikal: a slightly more expensive option offering suits to bungalows and a stunning pool in the middle of the jungle.

Why not take a look at some of those and see what you think – if we were visiting again, we’d probably choose one of them to stay next door to the ruins!

Is a tour worth it for Tikal?

If you love history and want to learn a lot, then yes.
If you want to visit for sunrise or sunset – i.e. will be walking around in the dark – then also yes.

Even though the tours can be expensive, we think they’re absolutely worth the price every time for sites like this.

Tikal is HUGE and getting between the different areas can be tricky without a guide. There is also limited information available to read as you walk around, so you’ll miss out of the amazing details, stories and knowledge that come with a guide. Not only do they know the history of the site itself, but they’ll be able to answer any of your burning questions when it comes to the culture, country, animals and plants that surround you.

We’d strongly recommend checking out some of these tours for your visit to Tikal:

Sunrise & Sunset at Tikal

Ok, so let’s talk about sunrise and sunset at Tikal! We did the sunrise tour and have NO regrets at all!

Pros

• Sitting at the top of Temple IV watching the jungle wake up (or in reverse at sunset) is indescribable, seeing the temples that poke out emerge of the canopy under the golden light… wow!
• At sunset you can take a beer up and watch the sunset!
• If you visit for sunrise it’ll be much quieter and more intimate – you’ll arrive and get to explore long before the day-trippers arrive.
• You get to hear the sounds of the jungle at its most active – right as the wildlife begins to wake as the sun rises or sets. The howler monkeys were a highlight for us – a bit scary in the pitch blackness, but incredible!
• During our sunrise visit, there were around 60 people at most on the viewing platform. Probably even less for sunset! Again – a very intimate experience without hoards of other tourists.

Cons

• You have to pay an extra Q100 (£10 / US $15) for just a few hours.
• It can be a little cold in the dark.
• Not so fun hours if coming from/to Flores – for sunrise you have to leave at 2:30am, and for sunset you’ll be arriving back well into the late evening/night.
• Sunrise is only 30% guaranteed and sunset is only 70% guaranteed – according to our guide. Due to cloud cover you might not get a good show.

We’ll leave it up to you to decide if it’s worth it. We did it, and it became one of the best memories of a 7-month trip in Central America… just look at the picture below!

What animals can I see in Tikal?

So many! Since you’re in the jungle, and pretty far from any major populations, the wildlife in and around the Tikal ruins is… wild!

Yet another good reason to go with a guide – they can point out so many species to you, along with info about them.

Here’s a little slice of all the amazing wildlife you can see during your Tikal visit:

• 🐒 LOTS of howler monkeys
• 🦜 Toucans
• 🐵 Spider monkeys
• 🦝 Coatis
• 🦫 Agoutis
• 🐸 Frogs
• 🦃 Ocellated Turkeys
• 🐈‍⬛ Jaguars & Pumas – these are VERY rare to see!

What to wear / bring to Tikal

• Water – bring lots, especially if you plan to be there all day.
• Mosquito repellent – you’re in the jungle after all!
• Sun protection – there is some tree cover, but don’t go without sun protection.
• Layers – if you’re planning to do the sunrise or the sunset up on Temple IV, it gets surprisingly cold when the sun.
• Sturdy shoes – there will be a lot of walking and some uneven terrain.
• Camera – you’ll want it to capture the epic shots of the temples!
• Cash – for tickets, food & drink, souvenirs etc.
• Passport – if you are buying your tickets on the door.

Our Tikal Photos:

Without giving too much away, check out some of our best snaps to help you get excited!! 

How to reach Flores for my Tikal visit?

It’ll depend where you’re coming from, of course! Most visitors will be coming from Guatemala City, in which case we’d recommend taking the 🚌 overnight bus. We wrote a full guide for the overnight bus from Guatemala City to Flores here, so check it out!

If you don’t fancy the long 8+ hour journey, your other best option is to fly ✈️ into Flores – again, usually from Guatemala City which only takes around 1 hour.

Flights are around US $90 (£67 / Q690) and include checked luggage.

Other reasons to face the overnight bus or the flight up:

• There are so many things to do in and near Flores that aren’t Tikal. We’d say 3 or 4 days is the ideal amount of time to see all the best bits, but you could comfortably do it in 2. Check out our complete blog post on the Best Things to do in Flores.
• Flores is close to the Belize/Mexico border. If you’re planning a multi-country, trip you can combine Guatemala and your next destination via Flores!